COLORADO
The BBER’s Forest Industry Research Program works throughout the Western United States doing a variety of research and data collection projects. This page will pull together information and data the program has compiled for the state of Colorado.
Forest Products Industry and Timber Harvest Reports
In cooperation with the USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, the Bureau conducts a census of the primary forest industry in each state, collecting detailed information on the industry’s size, diversity and economic impacts.
Four Corner's Timber Harvest and Forest Products Industry, 2012 Poster presented at the 2014 Society of American Foresters annual Convention.
Intermountain Region Quarterly Log Prices
With the support of the USDA Forest Service Intermountain Region, the Bureau has developed a system to provide current mill-delivered prices for sawlogs and specialty products in the Intermountain Region (R4). These prices are based on quarterly surveys of timber-processing plants that receive logs or specialty products from ownerships in the R4 geographic area. Mill-delivered prices are reported quarterly by product type and species.
Timber Processing Capacity
Timber-Processing Capactiy Near National Forests - Region 2 (Colorado, Wyoming)
Timber Use, Processing Capacity, and Capability within the San Juan National Forests Timber-Processing Area (August 2020)
Timber Use, Processing Capacity, and Capability within the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region Timber-Processing Area (Journal of Forestry, March 2020)
Timber Use, Processing Capacity and Capability Within The USDA Forest Service Region 2 Timber-Processing Area (Spring 2019)
RioGrande National Forest Timber-Processing Area (August 2017)
Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest Timber-Processing Area (August 2017)
Impact of the Great Recession and Housing Collapse on the Forest Products Industry in the Western United States
Forest Products Journal (Vol. 61 No. 8, 2012)
Timber-Processing Capacity and Capabilities in the Western United States
Presentation slide show (pdf)(2004)
See also: Forest Products Journal 55(12):143-147 (July/August, 2006)
Recent Posters
The Great Recession and the Western Forest Products Industry Poster (2012)
Timber-Processing Capacity in the Western United States (2006)
Sawmill Energy Consumption & Emissions
On-Site Energy Consumption and Selected Emissions at Softwood Sawmills in the Southwestern United States
Dan Loeffler, Nathaniel Anderson, Todd A. Morgan, Colin B. Sorenson
Biomass Studies
A study to enhance the ability of federal land managers in the Western United States to address the financial and economic aspects of woody biomass removal was funded by the Joint Fire Science Program. The study was broken into two parts.
A compilation of an annotated bibliography on the body of economic and financial information and tools currently available to federal land managers.
Conducting focus groups with federal land managers throughout the West to understand their current knowledge and use of existing information and tools as well as barriers to biomass utilization,
Enhancing Western Managers' Knowledge and Use of Available Economic and Financial Biomass Information and Tools
Results from this study were presented as a poster at the Society of American Foresters Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida in October 2009. Additional biomass research from the Joint Fire Science Program can be found here.
Workforce and Employment
Forestry workers and businesses are a critical component of the forest industry, providing the labor and expertise to produce goods and manage our natural resources. Understanding the capacity to meet current and future demands and the barriers and challenges forestry businesses face are essential to maintaining a strong industry across all segments of the supply chain. The BBER also tracks the economic contribution of the industry at the state and regional level.
